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 FROM HEAD START TO HIGHER ED 'The Journey of Resilience and Educational Transformation' Featuring Dr. Victor Rios Written and Narrated by Sonja Montiel It began under a tree in a public park. Dr. Victor Rios, then a toddler, was playing with his brother when he noticed how dark it was getting. He asked his mother, “¿Cuándo nos vamos a casa?”(“When are we going home?”) Her response: “We’re going to sleep right here.” That moment was the beginning of Dr. Victor Rios’ journey shaped by housing insecurity, trauma, and the transformative power of education. Just steps away from that park was a community center offering a Head Start program. “Despite all the hopelessness,” Victor recalls, “those teachers instilled hope in me.” They told him he was a good reader, and at the time, he didn’t know how to read. However, that belief stayed with him through graduate school at UC Berkeley, where he would hear their voices during long nights of study: You’re a good reader. But Victor’s path was far from linear. He describes an eight-year learning loss, disengaging from school in third grade and dropping out in ninth and tenth. For the days he attended school, his hoodie would cover his face with conviction that he was not a learner. It wasn’t until eleventh grade, after the death of his best friend, that he returned to school. There was a teacher, Ms. Russ, that remained consistent and persistent during his on and off time during high school. “She gave me wings,” he says. “She taught me to fly, even when I didn’t believe I had wings.” By eleventh grade, Victor wanted to learn. Ms. Russ helped Victor catch up on credits through zero periods, lunchtime tutoring, night school, and dual enrollment. He graduated on time and went on to Cal State East Bay, where programs like Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and Summer Bridge helped him recover academically. By his second year, he was thriving. Soon after, he was accepted into graduate school at UC Berkeley. Victor’s success sparked a deep level of curiosity. He knows that his story shouldn’t be an outlier, and yet, many people say he is. Victor warns against the “outlier” narrative. “It implies most people from our communities aren’t meant to make it. But opportunity matters, and knowing how to seize it is key for students.” Diving deeper into inquiry, Victor reflected: What allows “at-promise” students to thrive? What educational experiences create obstacles for students to move from survival to thriving human beings? How can I help change these systems? After publishing Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys, Victor became a leading sociologist and voice on the school-to-prison pipeline. Authoring a total of 8 books, he grew tired of reporting bad news. “I wanted to prevent these bad things from happening,” he says. “Schools are the best place to invest in, where people with good hearts already work.”  He envisioned schools as community-serving institutions, offering resources and connection. But he also saw a gap. Being invited to speak at annual conferences and summits, “Teachers were inspired by my keynotes, but the spark faded. They needed tools and systems to apply that spark year-round.” That vision became the Scholar System, a framework built on the practices of the most experienced educators like Ms. Russ. One tool, Praise and Projection, affirms a student’s effort and projects a powerful future. “You’re a strong writer,” Ms. Russ would say. “I know you’ll be a great attorney.” At first, it felt far-fetched. But it planted a seed of what could be possible. Overall, Victor compiled 150 tools into a handbook and built a team of 21 educators, including former foster youth, licensed therapists, and classroom veterans. Among them is Mr. Regis Inge, Kendrick Lamar’s middle school teacher. Before Kendrick credited him in Rolling Stone, Victor and Mr. Inge were friends. “He’s still in the classroom, 30 years in Compton, saving lives,” Victor says. “And he always says, ‘Kendrick’s just one of them. I’ve got hundreds more.’” Also included is Demonte Thompson, a former foster youth from Compton now completing his PhD at UCLA. Demonte studies how classroom environments impact foster youth, both positively and negatively, and brings lived experience to the Scholar System’s mission. They are currently working with 25 school districts. This collective wisdom honors not just what educators know, but how they show up. During our interview, I shared how there is emphasis creating belonging-culture for students, and I have always wondered where the emphasis was for belonging-culture for the adults, the educators. Victor agrees. “Educators need to know that they are being seen, valued, and affirmed not just in isolation, but also in unity. Scholar Systems helps to build this community.” He introduces a framework that applied to both students and educators: Victim → Survivor → Thriver Many people, young and old, who have traumatic experiences might remain stuck in the Victim mindset. Survivors rise above their experiences and grit through it. However, it is the Thrivers that use their experiences to fuel action and transformation. “Teachers told me, ‘I’m not just going to teach my students to thrive, I’m going to teach myself to thrive.’” When asked about the educational eco-system, Victor uses the metaphor of the Redwoods. Individually, each tree has a towering presence, representing their individual roots strongly anchored to their environment. What makes Redwoods even more powerful is their networked root system. “It’s called co-vitality,” he explains. “These trees support each other. If one tree is in a dry spot, another sends nourishment through the root highway. They thrive together.” This metaphor is how Victor imagines a thriving educational eco-system in the near future.  This vision seems far from the contrasting reality that our society is experiencing today. The dehumanization seen in society from immigrant bashing and racial profiling to systemic neglect and avoidance, Victor offers small steps from each of us to create a thriving environment. Victor shares a story of a young girl selling flowers at a restaurant, likely protecting her undocumented mother. “My wife and I bought all her flowers and told her to keep them,” he says. “She cried. We cried. And in that moment, we saw the answer: our children are already protecting their families. They are the future where they will create ways to avoid social impacts like the one we currently have.” The change doesn’t have to start with grand gestures. It begins with a simple act: Seeing someone. Offering kindness. Affirming dignity. “People struggling are everywhere,” Victor says. “You don’t have to look hard. You just have to stop ignoring them.” When we nurture the roots of those who nurture others, we are indeed creating a network of co-vitality. ∎
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